Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV
May 5, 2012
Filmmakers embark on McDowell documentary
By C.V. MOORE
for the Daily Telegraph

— From War On Poverty film crews in the 1960s to, most recently, the Australian Broadcasting Corp., McDowell County has had its fair share of media attention.

The press has long trained its lenses on the county’s social ills, portraying it as a down-trodden, drug-addicted backwater with little hope for the future.

But the people of McDowell have rarely been in control of the message, so how might those portrayals have been different had they been the ones behind the camera?

A group of talented young media makers from West Virginia wants to find out, and they are asking for the community’s help in supporting “Hollow: An Interactive Documentary.” Part web-based documentary, part community organizing project, “Hollow” will examine tough issues like depopulation, job loss and poverty, but not in traditional ways.

Through user-generated media, data visualization, mapping and personal stories, “Hollow” aims to transfer narrative power back to those living, working, going to school and just plain trying to get by in McDowell County.

“It seems like it’s going to be different from anything else that’s ever been done about this county, and it means a lot to me from that perspective,” says Alan Johnston of Premier, who is on the project’s community advisory board.

"To me, it seems like the motives are right and it’s not just another project trying to put a negative light on the county,” he says.

Johnston was recently featured in Australian Broadcasting Corp.’s 7-minute news piece about McDowell, “Been down so long, it looks like up,” which some in the community felt was unfairly bleak in its treatment of life there.

“I think something like this can really inspire people,” says 16-year-old Josh Clevenger of Iaeger, who is helping recruit young people to participate in the project.

“Most of the thoughts and opinions of our state are formed by outside forces looking in,” says Jason Headley, a writer and story director for “Hollow” originally from Tyler County.

“A project like this gives us the opportunity to do the exact opposite — to let people see West Virginia from the perspective of the people who live here.

“We can show the good and the bad. And the surprising thing for most people will probably be that the good is awfully good.

“And that the bad is much more real and nuanced than the clichés and stereotypes.”

•••

A NEW KIND OF

DOCUMENTARY

“A traditional documentary is one in which you hit the play button and sit back and consume the media,” says Hollow’s director, 24-year-old Elaine McMillion, originally of Logan County.

“An interactive documentary allows people to explore stories in their own way and on their own path, and then it allows you to participate with those stories by uploading your own content and writing messages to those featured in the stories.

“In that sense, you can’t passively watch these documentaries and not participate.”

The project’s website will house 20 to 50 short documentaries within it.

“People will come to the website and be presented with a very layered experience,” says McMillion.

“They will have free reign of exploring maps and videos that allows them to create their own narrative.

“We are trying to recreate the community of McDowell online.”

Users will be introduced to the online environment with some ambient audio and a short video that gives them a lay of the land. Then they can choose to start their exploration in one of three ways, through “People,” “Topic,” or “Community Stories.”

Choosing “Topic” will allow users to experience content through an issue like economics, love, or history.

The “Community Stories” tab will allow the McDowell community to comment or add content.

“People” will contain text, image and video portraits of those featured in the project, created by the filmmakers and the community.

McMillion, who lives in Boston, has been connecting with McDowell residents largely through word of mouth and Facebook. She has interviewed some over the phone to prepare for this summer’s filming.

This month, McMillion and some of her crew will be in McDowell filming conversations with and among community members.

They will be training participant volunteers to use camera equipment and create short films that tell a story about themselves, their neighbors and their home.

Each month, they will hold workshops to offer feedback about the work that’s been created so far.

The idea is that these events will not only further the documentary project, but also “serve as a community planning opportunity where ideas of how to better the county arise,” writes McMillion.

“’Hollow’ strives to (...) become a place where (the commu